To implement development concept that “ice and snow are also gold and silver mountains” and accelerate the construction of a new highland for opening to the north, the Arctic Blue Economy Research Center of Harbin Engineering University and the Administration Bureau of Harbin Area of China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone jointly released the “Cold Region • Arctic Development Index” during the first Harbin International Ice and Snow Economy Expo on January 6, 2026. The index provides a reference for government decision-making, industrial development, and northern opening-up cooperation.

At the release conference, Professor GAO Tianming, chief expert of the research center, introduced the core concept, indicator framework, and future prospects of the “Cold Region • Arctic Development Index”. The index system consists of two parts: the “Cold Region Economic Index” and the “Arctic Shipping Index”. The “Cold Region Economic Index” constructs a comprehensive evaluation system reflecting development quality and openness across industrial development, infrastructure, resources and environment, cultural tourism, and innovation support, and conducts quantitative analysis of Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning provinces. The “Arctic Shipping Index” covers cargo volume, port throughput, international transit transport, ship access permits, and container transport of the Arctic Northeast Passage, providing quantitative reference for Arctic shipping cooperation.

The research team spent five years completing the design and development of the index system. In the future, it will continue to improve indicator systems, data sources, and model methods, further expand application scenarios, and better serve the sustainable development of the cold region economy and Arctic cooperation.